


Under Covers

by ButterflyMama78



Category: RED (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Mentions of Masturbation, Smut, car smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:28:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25771363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterflyMama78/pseuds/ButterflyMama78
Summary: William Cooper hand picks Ember to go undercover with him on a weekend op.  After a sleepless night thanks to naughty dreams about her hot boss Ember has a difficult time just being in the car with him...(Inspired by a photo from Karl's Instagram).
Relationships: William Cooper/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this one a month ago but I kept getting pulled down a hundred different Karl character rabbit holes. I promise I have not abandoned my other fics, I have a short chapter in the works for Soulbound!

https://64.media.tumblr.com/b788a4edf0e38eb580ddd6481aa241fa/5ff28ccbed0750a0-cb/s540x810/b6022929422968afe057514f38fb842f3f091951.jpg

Ember had never been more thankful for dark sunglasses in her life. And coffee shops that opened at the ass crack of dawn near the sleepy suburbs surrounding the greater DC area. And six hour car rides to get to their destination. Hopefully her boss would be kind and not go over the operation parameters for the tenth time since yesterday afternoon and she could catch an hour of sleep. Without dreams. Please please please, don’t let me have any repeat dreams that kept me up all night, she prayed fervently. 

The last thing she needed was to have a any more vivid sex dreams about her very hot boss while in the car with him.

It was bad enough she had agreed to go on this assignment with him, posing as a couple at some fancy beach resort in North Carolina and she fit the profile of the type of woman their target frequently sought out. There were probably sixty agents with more fieldwork under their belts (or at least more qualified) for this kind of op who fit the profile, but Cooper had chosen her. It was both an honor that he wanted her with him and intimidating as hell because she did not want to let him down. 

Her phone pinged with an alert, drawing her from her exhausted stupor.

I’m outside.

Ember sighed. Be down in a minute, she texted back. She slipped her phone in her back pocket, shouldered her purse and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. She mentally went over her Leaving For Vacation checklist for the hundredth time, just as she always did before leaving for a few days. Plants watered, lights off, oven off, thermostat set to a reasonable temperature, all small appliances unplugged, windows locked. Phone charger and keys in purse. Toiletry bag in suitcase. Vibrator and extra batteries in suitcase…   
Unfortunately, since they were posing as a couple and would be sharing a one bedroom bungalow, she would have to remove the batteries to make damned sure she wouldn’t embarrass the hell out of herself should she need to relieve any frustrations.

Which there would be plenty. William Cooper was a walking wet dream. Tall. Broad shouldered. Scowly. Sexy. Intelligent. And deep down underneath that frown she was used to seeing on a daily basis he was a softie. That rarely seen soft side only fueled her crush on him that much more. 

With a weary sigh Ember set her security alarm and locked the door behind her.

Black Mercedes sedan, Cooper’s next text buzzed through.

Her brow quirked up as she pressed the call button for the elevator. No Porsche?

Didn’t want to look like a man going through a midlife crisis. 

She bit back a smile. You’re too young for a midlife crisis.

Ember was not surprised when no response buzzed through. She stuffed her phone in her pocket once more and stifled a yawn as she made her way out to the parking lot.  
She thought nothing of it when Cooper climbed out of the car and made his way to the back. But once he cleared the trunk she nearly tripped over her feet.  
In the short time she had known William Cooper she had never seen him wearing anything other than a suit. Granted, most of the time the jacket was off and his sleeves rolled up, but suits had quickly become the sexiest thing she’d ever seen on a man (firmly replacing uniforms. She’d always been a sucker for a man in a military uniform or tactical gear up until the first time she’d seen her boss loosen his tie and roll up his shirt sleeves). 

But she was woefully unprepared to see her hot boss wearing casual clothes. A blue and white plaid button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, unbuttoned over a light grey tee-shirt and a pair of snug jeans with a hole ripped in the left knee… and a pair of sunglasses hiding those dangerously gorgeous hazel eyes. And the stubble gracing his jaw. Oh sweet heavens she was a sucker for unshaven jaws...

She once again thanked her lucky stars for dark sunglasses hiding her eyes.

The trunk latching shut startled her out of her wandering thoughts. 

“Get in the car, Kid.”  
Oh.  
No.  
He.  
Didn’t.

Ember bristled at that moniker. She hated being called kid. Hated it. She was twenty-eight years old, barely, what, seven years younger than him. Her eyes began to burn when she jerked the passenger door open. Oh, don’t start, she admonished herself. It’s too damned early and I hardly slept last night. 

“Easy there, tiger,” Cooper commented as he joined her in the car. “You okay?”

She carefully shut her door, fastened her seatbelt and took a deep breath before she responded. “Yeah. Sleepless night,” she pasted on a smile as she turned to face him.

His brow furrowed. “Worried about the op?”

“You could say that,” she let the smile fall off as she settled back in her seat. That was partly true, at least. She was worried about her part, terrified she would blow it. 

“You’ve got the easy job,” he started the car. “Look pretty, flirt, be coy.”

“You call that easy?” She glared at him behind her sunglasses, blushing at his look pretty comment. “I can’t flirt my way out of a paper bag if I tried.”

His dimples flashed when he grinned. “‘Your tie brings out the gold in your eyes, Boss’ ring a bell? Or ‘You’ve got a bit of powdered sugar on your cheek’?”

Ember flushed beet red. “A compliment and a gentle warning before a meeting are hardly flirting!” She stammered out.

God, she had mentally kicked herself for a MONTH on the powdered sugar incident, brushing it from his cheek with her thumb.

Her palm still tingled from the feel of his afternoon stubble when she had cupped his cheek, as if she had any right touching him in such an intimate manner! 

“You were flirting,” his grin widened as he pulled out onto the street. “And the plate of extra cookies left over from your Christmas dinner?”

“Figured your kids would like some cookies, and I had more than enough left over,” she shifted in a poor attempt to hide the blush creeping up her chest and neck and wished like hell she had worn something other than a scoop neck tank top. She was not a pretty blusher when her chest got all splotchy.

“That’s what break rooms are for,” he chuckled. “Pretty sure Sanderson would ask you to marry him if you bring baked goods in.”

She shuddered. “Pretty sure he still lives in his parents’ basement.”

“Yeah, he has that personality,” Cooper frowned thoughtfully, slowing for a stoplight. “Not your type then?”

“Have you ever heard me flirt with him?”

His belly laugh echoed through the car. “No, no, I haven’t,” he managed to get out when his laughter died down. “You can give Wilkes a run for her money in the ice queen department when you’re dealing with him.”

“I hope you’re giving me a compliment and not calling me a frigid bitch,” she couldn’t help but smile. 

“She’s the frigid bitch and she wears that badge with pride. She made Sanderson cry a couple of times. You’re at least polite.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be,” she turned her attention back to the window. “And I don’t flirt.”

“‘You’re too young for a midlife crisis’?”

“Not flirting!” She shifted until her back was to him. 

“What is it, then?”

“The truth,” her forehead thunked against the passenger window. “Thirty-five is still young.” She sighed heavily. “Age is only a number, what matters is how you feel inside. Take Grandpa- er, Henry, for example. He’s eighty-five, still working downstairs, running circles around the younger desk jockeys.” 

“I need to find out what his secret is,” Cooper mused beside her.

“No,” she squeaked out, remembering something she’d overheard her grandpa telling Joe a few years ago when they went to New Orleans to see her godfather. “You don’t want to do that.” That particular memory would be forever burned into her brain.

He looked over at her. “Wait, he really has a secret? What is it?”

“Nope,” she shook her head. “It was bad enough overhearing it. I’m not telling you.”

If she could lobotomize herself to remove that particular memory of hearing her grandfather say his secret to remaining youthful at heart was masturbating every day she’d do it in a heartbeat.

The thought of telling her hot boss was embarrassing. 

But the images popping up in her head of her boss following Henry’s secret to youthful energy?

Ember squirmed a little in her seat. “H-how long of a drive is it again?” Her voice cracked.

“Six hours if traffic isn’t bad.”

Six hours in a car with her hot boss. After a couple of sex dreams and a long, sleepless night with her normally trusty vibrator and her vagina’s stubborn refusal to accept a toy penis to get the job done? Fuck.

She groaned. “Straight through, no stops?”

“I’ll make a couple of stops, I’m not a monster,” he chuckled. “You have breakfast yet?”

She shook her head. “There’s a coffee shop up ahead. They have donuts and breakfast sandwiches.”

“Any recommendations?”

“The omelette sandwiches are to die for,” she stifled a yawn behind her hand. “They come with sausage and cheese. You’ve already had their donuts.”

He groaned. “Might have to order a dozen for this weekend.”

“Better make it two dozen,” she shifted in her seat to get more comfortable. “I’m not crawling out of bed before ten a.m. this weekend.”

“You’ve already claimed the bed, huh?”

A slow, delicious warmth crawled through her veins at the husky, playful tone in her boss’ voice. “Figured it was a given since I’m a woman and you seem like the kind of guy who would take the couch.”

“Sweetheart, my back can’t take sleeping on couches for even a little catnap anymore,” he flipped on the blinker and turned into the lot for the coffee shop. 

“The bed’s a king, isn’t it? We could share it,” her eyes fluttered shut behind her sunglasses. “I promise to be on my best behavior.”

The strangled cough coming from the driver’s seat had her eyes snapping open.

“What?”

“You’re flirting again,” his voice was really husky now.

She frowned at him. “No, I wasn’t. My brain loses its filter when I’m running on very little sleep.”

“Always an excuse,” he shook his head as he rolled down the window. “What kind of coffee?”

“Just ask for the Emberleigh special, they’ll know.”

Twenty minutes later (and some seriously teasing looks from the barista silently telling her that she was going to have to tell him all about the hot guy in the luxury sedan next week) they were on the freeway heading to North Carolina. Cooper set the cruise and shifted to get comfortable. 

“Should we go over the parameters again?”

Ember swiveled her head around to glare at him, an “Oh, hell no” dying on her lips when she took in the glorious sight before her.

He had his left arm on the door, elbow bent to hook his fingers along the top of the window, left knee bent to showcase some tanned skin and glorious denim-encased thigh.

A very weak, very breathy “no” left her lips instead of the feisty retort.

He cast a quick glance at her before returning his attention to the road and the traffic around them. “Seat reclines if you want to take a nap,” he told her. 

Sleep was suddenly the furthest thing from her mind.

And learning the seat reclined?

That really didn’t help matters any. At. All.

She picked up her caramel macchiato and took a sip. Her vain attempt to put the brakes on the naughty thoughts forming in her mind just from the way those jeans hugged those thighs and that knee…

Stop it, Emberleigh, she firmly reprimanded herself as she turned back to watch the traffic in front of her. Count road kill or play the license plate game. Don’t stare at Cooper’s thighs and wonder what they look like out of those jeans. Or nipping at them. Or how thick he gets when he’s… sonofamotherfuckingbitch...

“If you want to turn the radio on, go for it, I listen to just about anything,” his voice broke through her wayward thoughts, teasing her with that husky tone. “Except for the new crap.”

She blinked. “Yeah, I can’t listen to that stuff either,” she pulled a face before looking at the dash and the stereo. “I can Bluetooth my phone if that’s okay?”

“Go for it.”

Of course her playlist would just have to start off with “Rock You Like A Hurricane” by the Scorpions. 

And oh that wicked, wicked grin that slowly spread across William Cooper’s face and his poor attempt to imitate the lead singer’s vocals… of course that would make her squirm.

Both hands were on the steering wheel now, thumbs drumming along to the beat.

The tempo was the perfect rhythm to have sex to. She mentally whined at the images popping into her head. 

The thought of Cooper timing his thrusts to the beat of the drum and adding a little rocking motion with the drum rolls nearly did her in. And the fact he was singing off-key only made her that much hotter.

Ember squirmed, pressing her thighs together as she forced her attention on the road ahead of them. 

I’m fucked if he does this the entire drive…

She caught her bottom lip in her teeth to hold back the shuddery whine when her boss put his all into the one man, driver’s seat concert. By the time Cooper pulled off the freeway at a rest stop she was a mess.

“You okay over there?”

His husky voice broke through her nearly-fevered thoughts. “Huh?”

“You okay? You’re whimpering over there,” he shoved his sunglasses up to give her a worried look. “You get car sick?”

“No,” she shook her head. 

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Yes!

She bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head. “God dammit…”

“Ember, do I need to call someone else in on this?” Gone was the light-hearted, teasing tone, in its place the no nonsense, cold tone she was used to in the office. 

Ember sucked in a shuddery breath. “No, sir. I can do this.”

“You’re about to crawl out of your skin, Ember,” he shifted in his seat to show her she had his full attention. “What’s wrong?”

“You really don’t want to know,” she cringed when she realized how needy she sounded.

The silence in the car neared a deafening pitch… or was it her heart thundering in her ears… as she waited for his rebuttal.

“Honey, I think I do.”

Honey.

Honey.

That one word, the low, guttural way he practically growled it, had even more heat pooling low in her belly. 

She must have moaned or whispered his name, something to make his hazel eyes darken. “I… should… get some air…” she blindly reached for the seat belt.

But instead of reaching for the door she leaned across the console.

Cooper met her halfway. His hands slid along her jaw to tilt her head before his lips met hers.

Ember let out a strangled moan when his tongue snaked into her mouth and curled around hers, teasing her, torturing her until she shuddered and pulled away for air. She slowly blinked open her eyes to meet his. “We… shouldn’t…”

“No, we definitely shouldn’t,” he agreed huskily as he tugged her into another kiss. “It’s a damned bad idea.”

One minute she was still in her seat kissing her sexy boss. The next she was straddling his lap with the seat reclined, her cutoffs nowhere to be found. She pawed at his clothing as he tugged the low neckline of her tank top down to expose her lace-covered breasts.

“We can get naked later when we get to the beach house,” he growled before biting one pearled nipple through the sexy bra she wore.

Ember gasped his name as his hands curved over her ass to grind his hips into hers. Any attempts to divest him of that magnificent plaid shirt and tee-shirt were quickly forgotten.

His jeans had to go. Or at least be undone and pushed down so the zipper wouldn’t scratch the shit out of her ladybits.

She curled one hand into his dark hair and shoved her other hand between them as Cooper switched his attention to her other breast. Holy Jesus she never thought getting her nipples sucked through a bra would be so hot!

“Easy, Tiger,” he groaned when she yanked at his belt. He dropped his hands from her hips to help her, thrusting his hips up just enough to shove those slightly snug jeans down to mid-thigh. They both moaned when his erection rubbed against her uncomfortably wet panties.

He hooked his fingers into the crotch of her panties and pulled them aside, earning another shuddering whine from Ember when his knuckles brushed her clit. He palmed his hard length with his other hand and thrust his hips up.

“Oh… god…” she curled her fingers into his shirt as he grabbed her hips to pull her down. 

“I’m hardly god, Baby,” he half-groaned, half-chuckled as her tight heat sheathed him. “Fuck… you’re so tight…”

She rolled her hips slowly. “I don’t think I’m gonna last,” she moaned when Cooper’s hands palmed her ass to guide her. 

“Me either, Sweetheart,” he rocked his hips in time with hers. 

Ember buried her face in Cooper’s neck when the coil low in her belly tightened. She untangled one hand from his shirt and slipped it between them, her fingers seeking out her clit. 

“That’s it, Baby,” he growled when he felt her knuckles against his lower belly. His hands tightened into a bruising grip, one she relished, as he thrust up harder and faster.

She quickened the pace of her fingertips on her clit. “Oh… God… Cooper…”

“Ember.”

She blinked her eyes open at the gentle squeeze of a large hand on her shoulder. 

“Wake up, Sleepyhead, we’re stopping for lunch,” he cleared his throat when she turned her head to face him.

Ember’s brow furrowed.

What the hell?

She was buckled in her seat, fully dressed?

Cooper dropped his hand. “I’m surprised you fell asleep with my singing,” he teased her. “Never worked on my kids when they were little.”

Did he sound a little gruff?

She blinked her eyes to try to focus on him. Was he avoiding eye contact, too? Damn those sunglasses…

“No comment?” His chuckle sounded a tad forced.

“No!” She blushed fiercely, wondering now if her dream had been… possibly a bit vocal. “N-no, I… I guess a smooth car ride combined with a sleepless night put me to sleep.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” he slipped the key from the ignition and shifted in his seat to slip it in his pocket. “Come on, I’ll buy you lunch.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy to see there are a lot of others just as thirsty for William Cooper as I am! Lordy! By popular demand and a suggestion, I banged out chapter two (by hand) last night.
> 
> This chapter is a retelling of Under Covers from Cooper's POV.
> 
> And, yes, there will be a part three.

Cooper reached for the travel mug in the console… but his fingers curled around nothing. A quick glance away from the early morning traffic showed an empty cup holder. “Well, that’s just typical,” he snarled grumpily.

His morning was off to a fan-fucking-tastic start, with a burnt Hot Pocket, his much-needed second cup of coffee forgotten on his desk at the office, and a restless night filled with some incredibly hot dreams of the only person he could one-hundred percent trust at work.

Ember.

She was a blessing, whether she knew it or not. Quiet, intelligent, efficient, with an uncanny ability to anticipate his needs. Beautiful. Sexy. A big flirt who had done a lot for his ego and self-esteem these past few months, and making him remember he was still a red-blooded man.

Last night’s solo sex on the back deck with a cigar and bourbon, fantasizing about having her on the glider swing or spread out on the patio table… bent over the deck railing… 

“Down, dammit,” he glared down at his crotch when he felt that familiar stir. 

Evidently that quick wank in the shower earlier hadn’t helped. 

God, he hated waking up horny.

It was going to be a dreadfully, painfully, long weekend, he thought as he signalled to pull into the parking lot for Ember’s apartment building.

When the file detailing the op landed on his desk he had immediately known he would assign Ember as his partner. She did not have a lot of field experience, and had zero undercover experience, but she was a quick learner and self-sufficient. He’d seen her wipe the floor during hand-to-hand combat training under Kordesky (he was supposed to be teaching that course, but at the time he’d been recovering from busted ribs from an op gone wrong). Men three times her size hadn’t stood a chance.

It had both terrified him and turned him on.

But an entire weekend, maybe a tad longer, pretending to be a couple on a romantic getaway to nail a bad guy, with her…

Fuck, I’m screwed.

With a frustrated sigh he plucked his phone from the holder on the dash (strictly for GPS reasons) and pulled up the last text thread.

I’m outside.

His hazel eyes flickered to the old limestone building built in the ‘30s and remodeled, what, twenty years ago, into an apartment complex, wondering which part of the structure her apartment was in. 

His phone chirped in his hand.

Be down in a minute.

He groaned, his eyes dropping to his zipper once more. I won’t.

If he survived the weekend, it would be a miracle.

He started to put the phone back on the clip when he realized he needed to tell her he wasn’t in his SUV.

Black Mercedes sedan.

Her response popped up a second later. No Porsche?

He chuckled. “No, no Porsche,” he mused out loud. He’d thought about it, the sweet little Roadster the CIA had confiscated a while back. Gorgeous car… but not ideal for a six hour drive to North Carolina.

Didn’t want to look like a man going through a midlife crisis, he texted back.

A classic sports car and a sexy young woman would most definitely make him look like he was. Well… so would the Mercedes, but it drove like a dream and wouldn’t kill his back or ass for the long trip.

You’re too young for a midlife crisis.

“Oh, you’re flirting, Sweetheart,” he groaned. He shook his head to clear it before pressing his hand hard against his crotch. “Behave, dammit, stay down.”

He had no idea when he’d find the opportunity to handle that particular issue. The little bungalow on the beach they’d be calling home for the next few days only had one bedroom. Light, airy, lots of windows and a door opening out onto a veranda, a king size bed--

He pulled himself from his thoughts when he saw Ember step out of the building.

“Fuck.”

God damn was he screwed.

Ember was dressed in a snug, scoop neck tank top and cutoff shorts that showed off her long legs.

Legs he’d dreamed of wrapped around his hips. Draped over his shoulders. Hooked over his elbows.

“Now is not the time to rehash your favorite fantasies, William,” he scolded himself as he climbed out of the car. He took the opportunity to adjust himself and straighten his   
plaid shirt to try to conceal the ridge in his jeans before he walked around to the trunk to open it.

Did she nearly trip over her own feet?

He kept that question to himself as he took her suitcase from her and stowed it next to his. He carefully shut the lid before turning his attention on Ember.

“Get in the car, Kid.”

She immediately bristled before storming off.

Oh shit, he sighed heavily as he watched her yank open the passenger door. He quickly rounded the car to climb into the driver’s seat. “Easy there, Tiger,” he looked over at her. “You okay?”

She shut the door and buckled up before taking in a deep breath. 

Yeah, Cooper, you hit the wrong damn button by accident, he realized. Better salvage this and fast!

“Yeah. Sleepless night.” Her smile was faker than the phony IDs his buddy had made for them in high school.

Yup, wrong button. 

He frowned in sympathy. “Worried about the op?” He was giving her a bullshit excuse for her temper flareup and he knew it, but he also knew Ember would not admit him calling her “kid” had upset her. 

Her smile fell, allowing him to see how tired she was. “You could say that.”

“You’ve got the easy job,” he reminded her as he started the car. “Look pretty, flirt, be coy.”

Inwardly he flinched. Wow, Cooper. That was smooth.

“You call that easy?” The blush staining her cheeks was downright adorable. “I can’t flirt my way out of a paper bag if I tried!”

He grinned. Either she’s in denial about flirting or she’s clueless that she’s a natural.

“‘Your tie brings out the gold in your eyes, Boss’ ring a bell? Or ‘You’ve got a bit of powdered sugar on your cheek’?”

God, he could still feel her hand cupping his jaw and her thumb brushing over his cheekbone.

Her blush grew brighter. “A compliment and a gentle warning before a meeting are hardly flirting!”

“You were flirting,” he grinned even more. “And the plate of extra cookies left over from your Christmas dinner?”

“Figured your kids would like some cookies, and I had more than enough left over!”

Uh-huh. A whole plate piled high with monster cookies, his favorite fucking kind?

“That’s what break rooms are for,” he couldn't help but chuckle. “Pretty sure Sanderson would ask you to marry him if you bring baked goods in.” 

Please forgive me.

Ember shuddered and turned a little green. “Pretty sure he lives in his parents’ basement.”

“Yeah, he has that personality,” he slowed for a stoplight. “Not your type, then?”

Please say no. You deserve so much better than him. Or me.

“Have you ever heard me flirt with him?”

He busted out laughing at her sassy rebuttal. There’s my girl, he struggled to get the mirth under control so he could speak again. “No, no, I haven’t,” he shot her a look. “You can give Wilkes a run for her money in the ice queen department when you’re dealing with him.” 

She finally smiled. “I hope you’re giving me a compliment and not calling me a frigid bitch,” her own voice was laced with a touch of humor.

“She’s the frigid bitch and she wears that badge with pride,” he pointed out. “She made Sanderson cry a couple of times. You’re at least polite.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be,” she mused. “And I don’t flirt.”

Oh, Honey.

“‘You’re too young for a midlife crisis’?” He struggled to keep another grin at bay.

“Not flirting!” She twisted away from him.

But not before he glimpsed the splotching blush dotting her chest.

His mind went south before he could stop it. Does she blush like that after an orgasm?

God dammit.

“What is it, then?” He mentally shook himself to get his mind back on the conversation. He winced when her head thumped against the window.

“The truth. Thirty-five is still young,” she sighed. “Age is only a number. What matters is how you feel inside. Take Grandpa-- er, Henry, for example. He’s eighty-five, still working downstairs, running circles around the younger desk jockeys.”

“I need to find out what his secret is,” he joked. Sometimes he needed more energy to make it through the day.

“No!” Her voice squeaked. “You don’t want to do that!”

His jaw dropped as he looked at her. “Wait, he really has a secret? What is it?” He needed to know.

She blushed again. “Nope,” she shook her head as if she were trying to shake off an unpleasant thought. “It was bad enough overhearing it. I’m not telling you.”

Oh.

Must’ve been something dirty if she was blushing like that.

“H-how long of a drive is it again?”

Did her voice just crack?

“Six hours if the traffic isn’t bad,” he answered.

“Straight through, no stops?” 

He chuckled. “I’ll make a couple of stops, I’m not a monster. You have breakfast yet?” He glanced over to see her shake her head.

“There’s a coffee shop up ahead,” she pointed out. “They have donuts and breakfast sandwiches.”

His stomach grumbled quietly. “Any recommendations?”

“The omelette sandwiches are to die for,” she paused to cover her yawn. “They come with sausage and cheese. You’ve already had their donuts.”

His mind tripped back to the massive powdered sugar donut that had led to her soft touch that fateful afternoon. His unintentional groan at that memory bordered on sinful. “Might have to order a dozen for this weekend.”

“Better make it two dozen. I’m not crawling out of bed before ten a.m. this weekend.”

No, down, he stubbornly told himself off at the images popping into his head. “You’ve already claimed the bed, huh?” He inwardly grimaced at the husky and teasing tone in his voice. Who’s flirting now, Cooper?

“Figured it was a given since I’m a woman and you seem like the kind of guy who would take the couch.”

She had his number. Damn, she really is good. “Sweetheart, my back can’t take sleeping on couches even for a little catnap anymore,” he signalled to turn into the lot for the coffee shop. 

Liar, he ratted on himself. He’d spent too many nights on the couch before Michelle asked for a divorce when she finally decided she couldn’t take being a CIA agent’s wife anymore. If it weren’t for his kids he would not have gotten the couch for his new place.

“The bed’s a king, isn’t it? We could share it. I promise to be on my best behavior.”

He coughed to cover a strangled groan. Share a bed with Ember? All weekend?

Fuck.

“What?” She asked.

“You’re flirting again.”

“No, I wasn’t,” she frowned at him. “My brain loses its filter when I’m running on very little sleep.”

“Always an excuse,” he rolled his window down. “What kind of coffee?”

“Just ask for the Emberleigh special, they’ll know.”

Cooper was pretty sure the barista, Tomer, was eye-fucking him. Not the first time that had ever happened, but it sure as hell was the first time a guy was so bold about it. And the not-so-subtle looks he was giving Ember were poorly hidden. 

Oh, yes, I’m gonna be the topic of conversation the next time she stops in, he chuckled to himself. It was both amusing and flattering.

By the time they hit the freeway his two breakfast sandwiches were demolished and she was barely finished with hers. He shifted to get comfortable. Long trips by car were never fun, the miles monotonous and the seat unforgiving. 

Flying had not been an option. The department could not justify using the jet for a weekend op, which left commercial flights. He personally hated that option. Checking weapons and other tools of the trade through security was a headache he did not want to deal with. It was easier to drive.

“Should we go over the parameters again?”

It never hurt to go over plans a few times, and with this being Ember’s first undercover op he wanted her prepared.

The breathy “no” from her caught him off guard.

He shot her a quick glance. “Seat reclines if you want to take a quick nap,” he swallowed the groan at the mental images of her stretched out on her back in that leather seat, him leaning over her… He shifted in his seat when his jeans grew a little tight again. “If you want to turn the radio on, go for it,” he cleared his throat (and his head). “I listen to just about anything. Except for the new crap.”

“Yeah, I can’t listen to that stuff, either.”

Thank god.

“I can Bluetooth my phone if that’s okay?” She asked softly.

“Go for it,” he nodded.

When the opening guitar licks for one of his favorite songs began to play he grinned.

God, if this song wasn’t the ultimate euphemism for sex. And the tempo. Jesus Christ.

And the fact that Ember had the Scorpions on whatever playlist she had? His crush on her grew that much more.

It reminded him of his high school days, his first car, T-tops off and cruising the strip rocking out to AC/DC, pretty girl in the passenger seat.

Sometimes he missed those days, not having any responsibilities other than keeping his grades up for football. 

He drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel and sang along off-key. He found himself really getting into the music and tried to tone it down, but after catching Ember trying not to stare he decided to put his all into it.

And all bets were off when his favorite Def Leppard song came on. 

They played random road trip games when he wasn’t rocking out. Counting state license plates. Slug bug (or punch buggie as his little Katie loved to holler, especially when she saw the blue ones). Billboard alphabet. Count the road kill (gruesome but it worked). I spy.

When she yawned for the tenth time in about as many minutes he realized why she was playing the games. She was trying to stay awake despite repeated suggestions to recline the seat back and take a nap. He even threatened to sing her to sleep.

She stubbornly insisted she needed to stay awake to help him watch traffic.

Somewhere along the way she did fall asleep. He smiled to himself when she sighed in her sleep and shifted to get comfortable in her seat. As carefully as he could he reached over to slip her sunglasses off and laid them on the dash.

No way was he waking her up any time soon. She needed to rest up. 

He was humming along to “In The Air Tonight” and miming the drum solo above the steering wheel (it was a federal offense to not perform the drum solo) when a soft whine came from the passenger seat. He quickly glanced over at the distressed sound. “You okay over there?” He pressed the button on the steering wheel to turn the volume down even more for the radio.

She shifted in her seat, head lolling toward him before a quiet snore reached his ears. He chuckled and shook his head before he turned back to watch the road. They were ten minutes from the nearest fast food restaurant and despite still being full from breakfast he needed to go to the bathroom and stretch his legs. He just didn’t have the heart to wake Ember up quite yet.

A few minutes later she drew in a deep breath and moaned.

That moan sounded suspiciously like his last name.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Ember shifted and moaned again. “We… shouldn’t…”

He felt his cock begin to stir at the soft little sounds coming from her. Sounds he had fantasized about more than once.

“Oh… god…” she squirmed.

Fuck, his jeans were uncomfortably tight. Cooper flipped the turn signal and checked his mirrors before exiting the freeway. 

Her moans and gasps were more frequent now, with his name whined out a few times. He drew in a shaky breath, that last guttural moan damn near making him cum right there. 

It would be cruel to wake her up, he thought as he pulled into McDonald’s parking lot. But he could not sit in the car and listen to her have a sex dream about him.

“Oh… god… Cooper…”

The way she was panting.

The way his cock was throbbing dangerously.

He hated himself, for having no choice but to listen to her pretty little sex dream sounds and for waking her up before she could…

No. Do. Not. Think. About. It.

“Ember,” he gently squeezed her shoulder before he chickened out. “Wake up, Sleepyhead,” he murmured gruffly when she blinked her eyes open. “We’re stopping for lunch.”

She looked disoriented, and he kicked himself for interrupting that dream.

He pulled away, breaking contact before his body could overrule his brain and pounce on her. “I’m surprised you fell asleep with my singing. Never worked on my kids when they were little.”

When she remained quiet he looked over. “No comment?” 

“No!” Damn, that blush was beautiful on her. “N-no, I… I guess a smooth car ride combined with a sleepless night put me to sleep.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” he agreed as he pocketed the keys. “Come on, I’ll buy you lunch.”


End file.
